Food Cravings and Healthier Plant-Based Alternatives

Whole Food, Plant-Based Living: Getting Started

By Sally Lipsky, PhD January 27, 2020

Updated September 18th, 2024

There is a reason we crave processed comfort foods high in fat, sugar, and salt, especially when feeling stressed, anxious, or tired. The taste of these foods provides us with immediate pleasure. But the blissful flavors of sugar, fat, and salt are short-lived. We are then left with uneven blood sugar levels, lack of energy, and unhappiness with ourselves. These negative physical and mental feelings often result in consuming more of these foods; thus, we find ourselves in a cycle of unhealthy food patterns:

Reason -> feeling stressed, anxious, or tired
Action -> eating comfort foods (highly processed; high sugar, fat, and salt)
Immediate effect -> feelings of pleasure, better mood, burst of energy (though short term!)
Continued effect -> uneven blood sugar, feelings of sluggishness, foggy brain, and self-loathing, which leads back to feeling stressed, anxious, craving comfort foods, and repeat

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Key to avoiding this unhealthful cycle is an awareness of your moods, emotions, and energy levels and the resulting food cravings. Begin noticing which foods you automatically reach for when feeling stressed or tired. Then, stop and consider whether you can substitute something else. A chart to get you started follows. Look at the list of commonly craved foods and corresponding plant-based alternatives. See which choices might work for you, then try it out. The goal is for you to stock up on foods that are healthful yet pleasurable to eat. Strive to develop a pattern that replaces unhealthy comfort foods with nourishing, tasty alternatives. You’ll be creating a cycle that boosts physical and emotional well-being:

Reason -> feeling stressed, anxious, or tired
Action -> eating nourishing comfort foods (minimally processed; low sugar, fat, and salt)
Effect -> stable blood sugar; more energy, alertness, and self-satisfaction

Craving	Healthier Alternative
Chocolate	Dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao), in small amounts Unsweetened cocoa in nondairy milk, cold or hot Cacao and date cookies and brownies
Refined sugar	Naturally sweet fruits (pineapple, berries, watermelon) Naturally sweet vegetables (carrots, corn) Carbonated water sweetened with mint leaves or splashes of fruit juices Dried fruit
Refined baked goods (cake, cookies, pastries)	Fiber-rich carbohydrates such as oatmeal, sweet potatoes, or multigrain pasta Whole-grain baked goods sweetened with dates, ripe bananas, or applesauce
Cheese	Nondairy or vegan cheeses (read the labels, avoid oil and processed ingredients) Hummus (has a cheese-like consistency when warmed) Nutritional yeast flakes (cheese-like flavor)
Creamy foods	Creamed soups and sauces from cauliflower, potatoes, avocados, or nondairy milk Plant-based macaroni and cheese Puddings from nondairy milk
Ice cream and frozen treats	Sorbet or smoothies from frozen bananas and berries Frozen grapes Frozen bananas rolled in cocoa or coconut Frozen cacao, date, and nut bars
Caffeine	Lower-caffeine teas Decaffeinated coffee Sparkling water with a splash of fruit juice or pieces of whole fruit
Salt	Whole-grain pretzels and crackers that are salt-free or have lower salt content Popcorn – either air-popped or popped in a paper bag in a microwave; sprinkle with cinnamon, nutritional yeast, smoky paprika, pumpkin pie spice, or other flavoring

Finally, be kind to yourself. Be committed to eating healthily, yet allow yourself to be imperfect. I often hear people remark, “I’ve been bad,” or, “I’ve fallen off the wagon.” There is no wagon to fall off on this journey. Remember: you are traveling on your individual path toward overall health and well-being.